AMD or Intel for Future Upgradable Starter Build

[Leodoz]

Soo... I wanted to build something I could Upgrade when I can. Both the AMD and Intel Systems have the same components, repriced to match the price here, except for the processors and their respective mobos. So which of the two? Oh and I'm probably going to buy the components one by one.

 

The AMD One:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Leodoz/saved/CnPFdC

 

The Intel One:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Leodoz/saved/9Yvjcf

[3 Lions]

I'd go for the Intel one but I'd wait for the B360 boards to come out and take off the aftermarket CPU cooler and just use the stock one as it can't be overclocked anyway. 

Edited October 14, 2017 by LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo

[Leodoz]

2 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

I'd go for the Intel one but I'd wait for the B360 boards to come out and take off the aftermarket CPU cooler and just use the stock one as it can't be overclocked anyway. 

I'll be upgrading the Processor to a i5 8600k or even a future Cannon Lake CPU (When both my finances and the Cannonlake CPU is compatible with the Z370 board) when the time it needs to, but then again I could change a few things.

 

(Don't mind the mixed set of RAM in the builds, I'm only going to choose one of the pairs.)

[Guest]

Why the liquid cooler for those builds? Single fan liquid coolers are garbage. Drop it and get a SSD instead.

 I would get the AMD one since it is cheaper.

[Armakar]

If you want to upgrade, Intel is a dead end. 9th-gen chips won't work with Z370 motherboards.

[Ryujin2003]

2 minutes ago, Armakar said:

If you want to upgrade, Intel is a dead end. 9th-gen chips won't work with Z370 motherboards.

And who knows if anything else released will be backwards or forwards compatible.

[paddy-stone]

AM4 one changed  https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WxhfXH

 

Better CPU/RAM/PSU/case IMO, for the same price, use wraith cooler that comes with the 1600.

[paddy-stone]

If you can afford it, also get an SSD.

[HKZeroFive]

I don't quite understand the Intel build. Why the different kits of memory? Why the liquid cooler (let alone a 120mm one) for a locked chip? Why did you pick a motherboard that costs more than the actual CPU? It's more convoluted than it should be.

 

Here's what I'd get. And no, don't buy the parts one by one. Buy them all at the same time to avoid any issues:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($111.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($156.34 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.69 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $912.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-14 07:35 EDT-0400

[Leodoz]

1 minute ago, HKZeroFive said:

I don't quite understand the Intel build. Why the different kits of memory? Why the liquid cooler (let alone a 120mm one) for a locked chip? Why did you pick a motherboard that costs more than the actual CPU? It's more convoluted than it should be.

 

Here's what I'd get. And no, don't buy the parts one by one. Buy them all at the same time to avoid any issues:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($111.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($156.34 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.69 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $912.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-14 07:35 EDT-0400

For the Different sets of RAM, I'll just choose one of the pairs. And the thing is, I based the price in my country, hence the inflated price of most components, can be said on the rest here.

[HKZeroFive]

5 minutes ago, Leodoz said:

For the Different sets of RAM, I'll just choose one of the pairs. And the thing is, I based the price in my country, hence the inflated price of most components, can be said on the rest here.

The pricing isn't that inflated, so you can always use my build above as a rough guide and base your own build off that.

 

As it stands though, you're spending too much money in the wrong places.

[ImNotThere]

anyone recommending intel here hasnt read the question, for upgradeability the lga 1151 socket is dead and z370 wont support canonlake, the am4 socket and accompanying chipsets will be supported until 2020 ish

[Fardin]

keep in mind to get a good board whatever build you choose when considering upgrade. I wouldn't expect much from a 60$ cheap b350 board if you want to pair ryzen 7 or equivalent cpu later. get asus prime b350 or strix b350f gaming atleast if cant afford x370 board. in intel side, choose a good z370 board thats all i can say. & 120m aio is just mediocre, get 240mm atleast when aio or some beefy air cooler instead. if you only gaming, go for intel. 

[AncientNerd]

5 hours ago, Leodoz said:

Soo... I wanted to build something I could Upgrade when I can. Both the AMD and Intel Systems have the same components, repriced to match the price here, except for the processors and their respective mobos. So which of the two? Oh and I'm probably going to buy the components one by one.

 

The AMD One:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Leodoz/saved/CnPFdC

 

The Intel One:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Leodoz/saved/9Yvjcf

Basically if you are planning on upgrading it later and getting the AMD one get an X370, they generally have better VRM so more room for overclocking. 

Pick one speed of RAM, your RAM speed will be limited to the slowest RAM in the system, so getting the 2800 kit will not do you any good since you added a 2400 kit, you will be limited to whatever speed the 2400 kit can be pushed to. If you are planning on upgrading later pick a starting amount of RAM 8GB or 16GB and get that amount, leave the other two slots empty for later upgrade and use the extra $$ to start with an SSD, better CPU or GPU...if you drop the 16GB kit you would be able to add a 240GB SSD and upgrade the 1050ti to a 1060 3GB card. which would be more noticeable than the extra memory.

 

I know you said you were planning an upgrade so you are adding the AIO now, but if you purchase the AIO when you upgrade you can match the AIO to the actual CPU you pick - or even go with an open loop if you have the cash. Picking an AIO now for these processors basically spends the cost of an AIO that could go into a better GPU or CPU. For the price of the AIO you may be able to jump one level of processor or upgrade to a larger SSD. Both of the CPUs you picked have fine stock coolers.

[AncientNerd]

Just now, AncientNerd said:

Basically if you are planning on upgrading it later and getting the AMD one get an X370, they generally have better VRM so more room for overclocking. 

Pick one speed of RAM, your RAM speed will be limited to the slowest RAM in the system, so getting the 2800 kit will not do you any good since you added a 2400 kit, you will be limited to whatever speed the 2400 kit can be pushed to. If you are planning on upgrading later pick a starting amount of RAM 8GB or 16GB and get that amount, leave the other two slots empty for later upgrade and use the extra $$ to start with an SSD, better CPU or GPU...if you drop the 16GB kit you would be able to add a 240GB SSD and upgrade the 1050ti to a 1060 3GB card. which would be more noticeable than the extra memory.

 

I know you said you were planning an upgrade so you are adding the AIO now, but if you purchase the AIO when you upgrade you can match the AIO to the actual CPU you pick - or even go with an open loop if you have the cash. Picking an AIO now for these processors basically spends the cost of an AIO that could go into a better GPU or CPU. For the price of the AIO you may be able to jump one level of processor or upgrade to a larger SSD. Both of the CPUs you picked have fine stock coolers.

Right, your actual question - I would probably pick the Ryzen but that's just me. I am not super impressed with the Coffee Lake/Z370 pairing so far.